Development on development

Here is the latest on Mac's continuing journey of developmental delays. On Tuesday, he and I went to Gillette for a Physical Therapy evaluation. They used the Peabody Development Motor Scales (the school team used the Bayley, but they are very similar). She asked me a lot of questions and basically before we were even half done, she said it didn't matter what the test said (she did complete it though), he clearly has some areas that need some PT help. So we made weekly appointments for 2 months and will reassess as we go to see if we need them all or not. He did NOT like the eval at all and she kept apologizing to me! Ha...he's my third...as long as you don't do anything that leaves a mark, we're good!

We are going to the Minnetonka location, which I have mixed feelings about. We couldn't get it to the Maple Grove location for an eval for almost three weeks and Minnetonka was two days (I called on Friday and we got in on Tuesday). They typically like to do services at the same place they do the eval for continuity of care reasons, which I get. In all honestly, they are both a 45 minute drive, so that shouldn't matter. BUT there is major construction on I-494, which is the easiest way to get to Minnetonka. AND, we know most of the PT's at Maple Grove, which is nice. But we'll be going mid-morning most days, so traffic shouldn't be too bad and I was able to make all appts with the same PT, which is really hard to do in MG, so I liked that.

Then bright and early this morning (we had to leave around 8, which doesn't give me much time between getting Finn on the bus and us getting out the door!), Mac and I headed BACK for his Occupational Therapy evaluation. I didn't really think this was necessary, but his doctor ordered it, so I figured, why not go? (although it would have been nice to do on the SAME day!) The OT LOVED Mac. I think she wanted to play with him all day. She said he is doing some skills at the 12 month level and overall, scored 73%, which is really good. No need for OT! Yeah! She said it was a joy to work with a child who can "do" the things on the test. I think the fact that he started self-feeding in the last week or so helped a TON. She noticed that moved his head around is a little difficult for him, probably because it is in the 94%! She also noticed that the pinky finger on his left hand tends to stay bend, but he CAN straighten it. She made a note to make sure the PT continues to watch that. She thinks is what they call "overflow" which is movement that happens other than the desired movement. So, he is working so hard on picking up a puff with his thumb and finger, his pinky closes, too. Probably nothing, but still worth noting. She also made a very strong point to tell me in not so many words to get rid of the pacifier! Gasp. I don't think I'm ready, but will I ever be?

So starting next week, we have PT at Gillette every week and PT at our house through the school every two weeks. We are going to get this kid moving his it kills us (hopefully not him, though!). I will be getting the official test results from both PT and OT but don't have them now.

As I was writing this, for the first time EVER, he just rolled from back to tummy (95% anyway), with the help of his play mat:

He just needs to get that darn arm out of the way. Hopefully we keep seeing progress like this!!